We just heard that we got our apartment in Fort Greene! There are so many angels involved in this process that I don't know where to start... but I will try to tell the story now.
I spent an entire week in Brooklyn looking for a place and not really finding anything. Jill came into town on Friday to interview for jobs and to look at places, but I was leaving early on Sunday morning so we had very limited time to look at places together. We looked at an amazing place on Friday evening in Williamsburg and decided we wanted to go forward with it. Only to find out that they did not allow cats. Our broker had not been listening at all (this is a recurring theme). So I was incredibly frustrated because there was an entire neighborhood that I wanted to show to Jill that she had never seen before and I could've scheduled some viewings for Friday night but we had cancelled because we thought we had found our place already. The email letting us know about the cat situation didn't come until about 7pm when it was too late.
So the next day was packed with appointments startig at 9am and ranging all over prospect heights, Ft. Greene and Greenpoint for good measure. I knew at this point that I really wanted to live in Ft. Greene, I just had to make sure Jill felt the same way. So after looking at a bunch of places that weren't quite right, Jill and I started walking around ft. greene and went to eat outside at Habana Outpost... Jill fell in love. But it was 2pm on Saturday afternoon. How on earth are we going to get a place by the end of the day? We wanted to give up.
Mom emails: have you found a place yet?
I reply: not yet
she writes: We'll pray harder.
I go inside to use the bathroom.
Come back out and Jill is gone, our purses still at the table. I look around concerned, but find her around the corner of the fence talking to 4 people I have never seen before. I walk up and she introduces a couple that she knows from Seattle, they introduce their friends who live in Fort Greene. When did you move?- we ask, did you use a broker? Recently they say, actually the broker we used is right across the street. We look and there it is: location location location (literally the name). Jill says you stay here with our stuff, I'll go over talk to them. She comes back about 20 minutes later- they are calling people right now to see what we can look at, they have a lot available in this area! So begins our waiting. We walk over to the Ft. Greene flea market- which by the way is SO cute and definitely something we should do when you visit. We get ice cream and wait for Lori to call. Finally at 350pm she calls. I have 3 places lined up. Meet me on Fulton and Cumberland. So we go. It is a group of apartments that I have already seen before. and didn't like. So we walk closer to the park to view a "garden apartment" which by the way means basement apartment. but the owner isn't there yet to show it to us. So Lori is like, the next place is so amazing, but it requires vision. I haven't even shown it to anyone yet, but I feel like you two will love it. We like the idea, but are a bit scared about the "having vision" part. She takes us to a beautiful corner brownstone across the street from the park (literally- walk out front door cross street and you are in the park , or in the farmer market- which is what it is on Saturdays and Sundays!) We walk into the beautiful foyer with amazing architectural details and beautiful staircase. and walk up 4 flights to the apartment (skylight above outer apartment door over the staircase). Walk in to an almost completely renovated apartment. Perfect new floors, walls. No appliances yet (that's the vision part). Equal size bedrooms (this is something we had seen very little of- most places had one huge bedroom and one closet that they called a bedroom) new tile in kitchen and bathroom. Skylights, windows, park view. Long story short- most perfect apartment we have seen. and in our price range- miraculously.
Mom tells me later that is exactly what she prayed for- something unexpected to happen that would lead us to the perfect apartment. And now after a week of back and forth- we finally have the apartment!
